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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Desktop holiday for you: European Edition - a taste of culture & fashion in Paris....

This will be the 3rd and final batch of photos from J the Chocoholic's Paris 2009 series... :)

Theme: Culture & Fashion....There is no shortage of really nice museums to visit in Paris - it really just depends on what you like. With only 5 days there, I had to limit my selection so I only visited 3:1) Musée L'Orsay:

The exterior of the Musee L'Orsay.....

I really liked the interior of this museum - a converted train station, the mix of ironwork and beautiful glass and stone carvings was simply beautiful:

Inside.....

As for the artwork, there were smatterings of famous paintings from many famous artists such as Degas (I like!) and Picasso:

Degas.....

Picasso Van Gogh!.....

2) Musée L'Orangerie:My favourite museum of the lot, because it houses part of the Nympheas (Waterlilies) collection by one of my favourite artists, Claude Monet:

Monet.....

The thoughtfully designed interior was also pure genius - with the calming background music, simple white walls and natural lighting from the skylights enhancing the beauty of huge paintings spread across each circular room:

One of the main rooms in Musee L'Orangerie.....

3) Musée du Louvre:The Louvre is THE most famous (even more so after the Da Vinci Code movie) and biggest museum in Paris housing 3 gargantuan wings of artifacts and artwork from all over the world:

The Louvre.....

For example, Egypt,:

Mini Sphinx?.....

... Europe:

Heavy suit.....

... and of course many other places (Asia, etc).

It is also (as you may already know) the home of the famous Venus De Milo statue and the Mona Lisa painting by Signore Leonardo Da Vinci:

The Venus De Milo.....

Is it terrible for me to say that I was fairly unimpressed with the Mona Lisa? :(

Well, maybe if I could have gotten a better look at it I may have appreciated it more.... but it was cordoned off meters away, protected behind a (probably) bullet proof casing so I couldn't even see her properly (and also there quite a lot of people jostling around to see her):

Squint to see the Mona Lisa.....

4) Galeries Lafayette Fashion Show:I managed to score a free ticket to a mini fashion show at one of the high class shopping centers in Paris called Galaries Lafayette (I guess it's like Star Hill or Pavilion in KL?):

Front row seat!.....

Actually, it's not like it was such a big deal - they have this fashion show weekly (Friday 3pm) and all you got to do book yourself a seat at least 2 weeks in advance (you can contact them through the email on their website):

Models: Setting ridiculous body standards around the world *sigh*.....

Ah, Paris - where even the inside of a shopping center can be so beautiful! Check it out:

The gorgeous steelwork and dome inside the Galaries Lafayette.....

That's all I have for the highlights of my trip to Paris (I hope you liked it). I'm sorting through my Italy photos now so I'll post those up next, ok?:)

27 comments:

i guess back then, venus de milo was a feat because of the lack of technical capabilities in making it. perhaps iphone is the new venus de milo! hahaha. as for the mona lisa, ya lor, wth! i was pretty astonished when it appeared before me in A4-ish size..haha!

UNKALEONG; so SEXIST! I like the Mona Lisa and it certainly doesn't make me into YOU! ;-)

But one thing is certain, the Mona Lisa is definitely underwhelming when viewed in reality. It's tiny for one. You're so used to being fed these larger than life thingies and the expectations are just so high when you do see it.

to Anonymous:Finally! Someone who's actually paying attention... :)(Haha.. Actually, thanks for spotting the mistake.. I meant to link to another photo and changed my mind at the last minute - got mixed up. I've fixed it now...)

And yes, I did go to the National Museum in London too. Amazing collection there (esp the Egyptian section), but the art couldn't surpass (to me) the Musee L'Orangerie. :)(What can I say? I love Monet...)

to Anonymous:OK... :(Well, thanks for reading mine. :) :)And I will definitely put Provence top on the list the next time I visit France..(*sigh* Don't know when that will be but I sure hope it's soon!)

to Paris Hotels:Well, I can't give a definitive answer (since I've only been to Paris twice) but this time, I stayed at the My Hotel in France Levaillois and I liked it - friendly staff, nice place, comfortable and fairly convenient (not in the middle of Paris city, but quite near the Louis Michel metro).